In less than six years on the market, yellow packets of sucralose -- better known by the brand name Splenda No Calorie Sweetener -- have edged out the blue packets of aspartame and pink packets of saccharin near coffee cups nationwide. Splenda now enjoys a 51 percent market share among sugar substitutes in the United States. Its distinctive packets can be found at Starbucks and 7-Eleven stores. As an ingredient, it is listed on some 4,000 products, from breakfast cereals to Jamba Juice smoothies.

Dear Pharmacist: I am 15 years old and my divorced parents share custody of me. In my mom's house, I am made to eat and drink foods that contain artificial sweeteners because she's concerned about her weight. My dad thinks sugar-free foods that contain these chemicals are dangerous and we are never allowed to eat them. But like my mom says, the government would never allow these artificial sweeteners in foods if they were bad for us. Right? - N.R., Gainesville Dear N.R.: I applaud your insight.

Dear Pharmacist: I am 15 years old and my divorced parents share custody of me. In my mom's house, I am made to eat and drink foods that contain artificial sweeteners because she's concerned about her weight. My dad thinks sugar-free foods that contain these chemicals are dangerous and we are never allowed to eat them. But like my mom says, the government would never allow these artificial sweeteners in foods if they were bad for us. Right? - N.R., Gainesville Dear N.R.: I applaud your insight.

Are you blue? Or yellow? Do you live in a pink world? Or are you part of the dwindling white majority? Relax. We're talking sweeteners, here. Those little packets of chemical goodness that have become as much a part of weight-conscious American life as cell phones and remote controls. Sweet 'N Low. Equal. Splenda. Their real names -- saccharine, aspartame and sucralose -- don't really matter. They're this generation's Kleenex and Coke. Brands that not only define a product, but a way of life.

Are you blue? Or yellow? Do you live in a pink world? Or are you part of the dwindling white majority? Relax. We're talking sweeteners, here. Those little packets of chemical goodness that have become as much a part of weight-conscious American life as cell phones and remote controls. Sweet 'N Low. Equal. Splenda. Their real names -- saccharine, aspartame and sucralose -- don't really matter. They're this generation's Kleenex and Coke. Brands that not only define a product, but a way of life.

DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Time is running out for Nutrasweet Co. On Dec. 14, Nutrasweet`s decade-long monopoly ends for the sale of the artificial, no-calorie sweetener aspartame in the United States. Though the fateful day is more than seven months away for Nutrasweet, a unit of Monsanto, considerable behind-the-scenes manuevering already is under way at Coca-Cola, Pepsico and other companies eager for sharply lower prices on the most costly ingredient in diet soda. "We`ve all been waiting for it," said M.L. Lowenkron, chairman of A&W Brands Inc. "It will force Monsanto to be more competitive."

THE CLAIM: Artificial sweeteners can raise blood sugar. THE FACTS: It seems like common sense that foods labeled "sugar free" would have no effect on sugar levels in the blood. But sometimes they do. Most artificial sweeteners -- saccharin, aspartame and sucralose, for example -- offer the sweetness of sugar without the calories. They contain no carbohydrates and so have no effect on blood sugar. But these sweeteners are sometimes paired in "sugar free" products with another sugar substitute called sugar alcohols.

Back in the good old days of artificial sweeteners, the choice was simple: pink or blue packets. Now the decision-making process is more complex. Here are some of the sweeteners we've encountered lately: Stevia plus fiber How sweet it is: We found stevia to be slightly sweet in some beverages -- tea, lemon water, dairy and soy milk smoothies -- but rather bitter when stirred into coffee, sprinkled over fruit and yogurt or tasted on its own. What is...

Looking for ways to trim calories? You're not alone. One way is by cutting out sweets, or at least by switching from table sugar (sucrose) to alternative sweeteners. We know artificial sweeteners are good in ice tea and soda, but what about in cooking? Do they stay sweet or does the flavor disintegrate? Since I'm a food scientist, I thought I should experiment. But first, a sweet primer: The most common household sweetener is table sugar (sucrose), a natural sugar. There are many alternative nutritive sweeteners, including honey (which contains more than 40 percent fructose)

In less than six years on the market, yellow packets of sucralose -- better known by the brand name Splenda No Calorie Sweetener -- have edged out the blue packets of aspartame and pink packets of saccharin near coffee cups nationwide. Splenda now enjoys a 51 percent market share among sugar substitutes in the United States. Its distinctive packets can be found at Starbucks and 7-Eleven stores. As an ingredient, it is listed on some 4,000 products, from breakfast cereals to Jamba Juice smoothies.

Dear Pharmacist: My wife and I are arguing over whether or not there is a male birth control pill. She wants me to take it, but I don't want to take anything that could interfere with my manhood. Is there really a "pill" for men? -- T.M., Tampa Dear T.M.: Not yet, but there are several compounds being tested that can essentially render a man "infertile" by making his sperm "blind" to an egg, so that it swims right past it. Pharmaceutical companies aren't that eager to produce a male version of the birth control pill, despite the promising results seen in animal testing.

The American Diabetes Association issued new dietary guidelines Wednesday saying that people with the disease can eat sweets occasionally as long as they keep their blood sugar levels under control. The new guidelines are designed to improve the treatment and prevention of diabetes and to simplify the lives of Americans who have it, an estimated 16 million people. Although many diabetes specialists have advised patients for years that they can consume sugar-laden foods if they control their blood sugar levels, there is still widespread belief that a person with diabetes should never eat concentrated carbohydrates, like sweets.